Current Event:

A California husband and wife recently discovered a fantastic hoard of gold in their back yard. The couple was walking their dog when they noticed something shiny on the ground and began digging. They eventually unearthed 8 metal cans containing 1,427 gold coins, all in uncirculated, mint condition. Numismatists–that is, rare coin experts–characterized the discovery as the largest of its kind in U.S. history. The coins, most of which were minted in San Francisco, date from between 1847 to 1894. Experts believe that at auction they could fetch as much as $10 million. Just one of the coins–an 1866-S No Motto Double Eagle in uncirculated condition–is valued at as much as $1 million. After paying some household bills, the couple plans to donate much of their “pot of gold” to charity.

A $10 gold piece called an eagle was issued by the U.S. Mint from 1795 to 1933. (World Book photo by James Simek)

Objective:

Money is anything accepted by members of a community in exchange for the things they sell or the work they do. In ancient times, people used such items as beads, cacao beans, shells, and stones as money. One problem that occurred with such early money was debasement. Debasement involved making objects look like money but actually making them out of something less desirable than the real objects. Whenever people could not tell good money from bad, all money lost value because people became reluctant to accept it. To curb the problem of debasement, some ancient cultures appointed an expert to examine money. When the expert found a piece of money that was good, the expert put an identifying mark on it for all to see. When governments began stamping a mark on metal pieces to show that they were acceptable as money, the governments created the longest-lived monetary object in the history of the world–the coin. In modern times, money has consisted mostly of coins and officially approved, printed pieces of paper called notes. Each country has a basic unit of money. The Behind the Headlines news stories and related World Book articles explore money from around the world.

Words to know:

• California
• California gold rush
• Coin collecting
• Department of the Treasury
• Eagle [gold coin]
• Exchange rate
• Gold
• Mint [place where coins are made]
• Money
• San Francisco

Discussion Topics:

1. Ask your students to name currencies from around the world. (Students might say the dollar [Australia, Canada, United States]; euro [many European countries]; pound [United Kingdom]; ruble [Russia]; shekel [Israel]; yen [Japan]; yuan [China].)

2. Ask your students to debate, “All countries should use the same currency.”

3. Ask your students what they would do if they found a hidden treasure valued at $10 million.

4. Ask your students to use the World Book’s BRAND NEW Timelines feature to create a timeline of the history of money.